hotel star rating system

It depends on what country you are traveling in.

Mostly, the stars are based on things like 24 hour reception desk open, restaurant on premises for meals other than breakfast, A/C, bathrooms ensuite, etc.

There are perfectly fine B&B's and pensions, that will be 2 star, it is just they don't have the amenities that bigger hotels will have. Just check their reviews on multiple websites to get a good overall picture.

You might want to just google "hotel star system" for whichever country you are planning on visiting.

As Jo stated it will vary by country,, and is usually based on amenties available( elevator, restaurant, air conditioning etc) but not on QUALITY of amenties. So it is possible to get a two star hotel that is far more pleasant then a three star.

Read hotel reviews.. I like tripadvisor.com ,, but I always google a hotel name and read the reviews posted on mulitple sites to get a general consensus. I have not been surprised yet.

I have stayed in 2 and 3 star hotels,, and enjoyed each for different things. I have also stayed in a 3 star that then had rating changed to 4 star the following season,, and I have no idea why..

Don't book just by stars.

As noted, the star system varies by country, however, the smaller the village or town, the better I have found 2 star hotels to be; conversely, in the metro areas, I stay with 3 or more stars, especially while on business mainly because I have found 2 star hotels tired,smokier, and in dicier areas.
As a wise and experienced traveler(feminine) once said, "the older I get, the more stars I need."

The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) sets the criteria for stars in Germany (See here). Unfortunately it's only published in German, but you can use a translator, and at least you can see the structure.

It's a matrix of criteria, 270 total, like the number of hours the front desk is manned or room service is available. Each item is assigned a number of points and each number of stars requires a minimum number of points, total. Certain items are also considered mandatory (M) for the number of stars. For example, item 187, for any hotel to have 3 or 4 stars, someone on the staff must be bilingual (German/English, 2 pts) and for 5 stars, item 188, three languages (German/English/one other, 4 pts) must be spoken.

That doesn't mean 1 and 2 star hotel can't be have German/English staff, but you can count on it with 3 or more stars. I stayed at a 3-star "lodge" in the Harz. The daytime manager spoke fluent English. The night manager spoke only a little.

Most of the time, I stay in Privatzimmer and small, family run Gasthäuser that don't bother with stars. Most of the time there is no front desk, you just get your own key to the front door, and there's no room service, but I don't have that at home or need it while I am traveling.

If you don't feel your A*** is made of gold and has to be pampered, almost anyplace in Germany will be fine.

You really need to know yourself and what is important to you. I have a cousin who works (management) for a five star hotel chain and his travel style tends to be close to four or five stars, although he does ok at some "lesser" brands from time to time. I, on the other hand, can stay at a hostel and be ok, although I need clean and safe.

Also, a new feature on Trip Advisor tells you how many contributions reviewers have and I recommend giving that weight. The only time I have been burnt by TA, I realized after coming home that the people who reviewed the B&B only had one review EACH. I highly suspect that they were friends of or the actual owners of the place, because it was not a great place to stay. I did report them- the reviews are still there, but the ranking did drop down a few spots.

TA has had a problem with their reviews, which has been reported by them and in the media, of owners or owner's employees gaming the system by touting their properties and competitors dissing them. It's been suggested that it's probably best, with TA reviews, to discount any suspiciously adulatory, or awful, reviews.

I put little credence in TA. They don't give you a way to contact a property directly, you can only go through their booking agencies. They obviously put their commercial interests first. You have to take that into account.

I have had no problem finding hotels web sites from using TA. It is always best to use several different sources when searching. You find different reviews as well as different prices. That is why I like using www.hrs. com, but I will also look under Expedia, etc, to just compare everything and then go with what ever is cheaper.

The thing I do like about TA is that if you are looking at a hotel, you can go to the forum for each city and post questions about it. Most likely, one of the Destination Experts will know it and either endorse your choice or warn you off. For example, there are quite a few hotels in Frankfurt that look pretty good on their websites, but because of their location, I would probably tell folks of other hotels that fit the same budget, and are much nicer. I know the neighborhoods, the ease of transport, etc.

The Destination Experts have their own forum where if a review is suspect, they ask each other to look at it, so it gets removed quickly.

Lee I have found all my hotels through Tripadvisor.. I find them there, then google for their own websites,, very simple. I contact hotels and book directly with them, which in some cases is the only way to book with them if they are smaller hotels and are not hooked up with agencies like Venere etc..

The reviews on ta can be very helpful,, you do have to read them,, and more then just the top page ,, I read as many as were posted in the last 6 months to a year. I post hotel reviews there too.

Occaisonally there are "planted" reviews, but they are easy to spot if you actually bother to read more then first page or so. You read 10-15 reviews and look for the "average" reviewers opinion.

As I said, I have booked at least 9 or 10 hotels that way,, mostly in Europe,, but also in States .

Stars represent level of services a hotel provides. It really isn't supposed to be an indication of how "nice" a hotel is. It's commonly used that way - which is probably why so many people complain about staying in a three star hotel that was filthy and noisy.

I don't need any services so stars don't mean anything to me. I carry my own bag and don't need a concierge to make dinner/theater reservations for me. It's nice when breakfast is included in the room price, other than that I don't plan to eat in the hotel restaurant.

I wade through reviews at tripadvisor to get a sense of whether the hotel is clean and quiet - the issues I care about.